Not sure if I can be a dentist

[jookeman]

I've always wanted to be a dentist; It's been my choice as a career path ever since grade 8. However, I'm not sure if I can actually get into dental school. I'm currently grade 11 in Alberta taking diploma IB. I'm doing okay right now, but I'll list what I expect to get in grade 12 because afaik that's all that matters (if I'm wrong please let me know!)

bio IB 30: 100 (pretty safe bet, this is what I got for grade 10 and grade 11)
english IB 30: over 90 (again, pretty safe bet, my marks in grade 10 was 92 and right now it's around 93)
Math 30 IB: 78 (I already finished this course, I'll probably retake it over the summer to get over 90
Math 31 IB: 85 (my mark right now, may change, and again, I'll probably retake this sometime in grade 12 to get it over 90.
Chemistry 30 IB: high 80s to low 90s (not very comfortable with chem but I manage)

Be honest please; I want to know if being a dentist is a realistic dream for me to have or if I have to abandon it and find something else to do. I've never really worked before, and so far I only have around 60 CAS hours (I don't volunteer much).

I'm okay at athletics, was in the basketball team and badminton team during middle school and right now in high school I'm on the badminton team (I'm considering not trying out this year -- let me know if that is a bad idea in terms of becoming a dentist!). Because I'm asian I played piano for a bit (level 8), and that's pretty much it.

Also, I'm one of those people that never really considered pursuing this career seriously until now, so I'm fairly uninformed about what actually goes into applying for dental schools. I'm hoping to apply to UBC or UofA (most likely UofA because they accept non-ib marks while still giving you the bonus that diploma ib gives). It would be nice if some of you could link me to somewhere that explains all this stuff.

Thanks!

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[Madison Miller]

Those are fine grades. If you keep up your grades in college, you would be a great dentist. Don't stress out so much. Your grades in high school won't factor in much if at all when trying to get admitted into dental school.

As far as sports goes, I would consider joining pre-dental organizations or other more relevant clubs on your schools campus before choosing sports. However, if you are able to juggle sports with your schedule - I say go for it. Just don't overwhelm yourself to the point that you can't make good grades.

 

[jookeman]

Those are fine grades. If you keep up your grades in college, you would be a great dentist. Don't stress out so much. Your grades in high school won't factor in much if at all when trying to get admitted into dental school.

As far as sports goes, I would consider joining pre-dental organizations or other more relevant clubs on your schools campus before choosing sports. However, if you are able to juggle sports with your schedule - I say go for it. Just don't overwhelm yourself to the point that you can't make good grades.

hmm okay, thanks! To be honest, I've only seriously started looking at my future in the past few days or so, so I'm pretty clueless about being a dentist at the moment. I've taken physics 20 (93% in it) but should I take physics 30?

You mentioned my grades in high school not factoring much at all when you try to get admitted into dental school; can you explain this? I'm going to UofA to study (pre dental as well); I think my grades are fine for getting into that particular university but I wasnt sure about the dental department. Also, what sort of courses does one take to pass admission requirements?

 

[longhornpride]

Dental schools don't look at high school grades. Atleast they don't in the US... not sure about Canada, but I'd be shocked if they did. Focus on getting into a good university and do your best to get good grades. Take the prerequisites for dental school and take some upper division science classes and do well in them. Also do well in the DAT and get some shadowing under your belt. Dental school is very competitive, but with hard work, an acceptance is very attainable. I know Canadian dental schools are very competitive so you might have to apply to some US private schools.

For now, focus on getting into a 4 year university and focus on doing well in your pre-reqs. Join a pre-dental club when you get into undergrad. It will help you through the process.

 

[jookeman]

Sorry for the bump. My counsellor recently told me to stay in my city because "it's better to get a perfect mark in a mediocre university than to get a lower mark at a more established university. "

Is this true?

 

[FantasyVesperia]

I heard some people say that, but I'm not sure if it's completely true or not. Getting accepted into college is already good enough. As long you have consistent grades and continue to make good grades you should be fine.

 

[Cephal0pod]

Sorry for the bump. My counsellor recently told me to stay in my city because "it's better to get a perfect mark in a mediocre university than to get a lower mark at a more established university. "

Is this true?

From what I've heard, it is. My understanding is that GPA is one of the first factors med/vet/dental/etc schools look at, so it's best to have a high one even if it means not going to a super fancy smancy school. From a personal standpoint, that's one of the big reasons I decided not to apply to any Ivies. I could have, I have the GPA/class rank/ACT scores/extra-currics for it, but I decided to play it safe and protect my future college GPA (and save myself/parental units some moolah too ). Not that it's impossible to get a good GPA at an upper level school, of course, it's just harder.